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Blog Posts: water risk

Many of the world's biggest aquifers are being depleted much faster than they can be replenished, from the Middle East to India to California. New NASA satellite data reveals a looming global groundwater crisis.

In certain areas of the world, more than 80 percent of the local water supply is withdrawn by businesses, farmers, residents and other consumers every year. These areas are particularly vulnerable to episodic drought.

Many places around the world have no idea how much groundwater and surface water they have, let alone how much they can use sustainably. The United Nation's proposed Sustainable Development Goals, however, could transform the way governments understand and manage scarce water resources.

With the changing global climate, river flooding in cities worldwide has emerged as an immense challenge to urban resilience.

Since average global temperatures are already rising and the effects of climate change are becoming increasingly palpable around the world, cities need to focus on adaptation measures in order to strengthen their resiliency and better protect billions of global urbanites.

New analysis shows that approximately 21 million people worldwide could be affected by river floods on average each year, with that number rising to 54 million in 2030 due to climate change and socio-economic development.

As world leaders deal with climate change, aim to lift more people out of poverty, and make the world a more sustainable, prosperous place in 2015, here are the top Stories to Watch, according to WRI’s experts and as presented by WRI President and CEO Andrew Steer on January 8.

In fast-urbanizing China, nearly 90 percent of coastal cities face some degree of water scarcity and roughly 300 million rural residents lack access to clean water.

To quench the country’s chronic thirst, the Chinese government has turned to desalination, aiming to produce as much as 3 million cubic meters of desalinated water daily by 2020, up from today’s 0.77 million cubic meter.